search the site

A Writer’s Life

I’ve always considered myself to be a writer. I left my home in Pittsburgh and went to Kent State in the ’60s where I managed to get two degrees in journalism. It wasn’t so much that I had a desire to be a journalist. But I had at least some ability to string words together. And hey. It beat anything remotely connected to math and science.

And during the following 40 years or so, I wrote hundreds — maybe thousands — of press releases, articles for organizational magazines and other publications, op-ed articles, speeches and blog posts.

Does that make me a writer?

Not sure.

Maybe it makes me the equivalent of an accountant who deals in words instead of numbers.

What I do know is that writing ain’t easy. It requires hard work; a commitment to learning the craft and applying over time what you learn; and the ability to learn, grow and not be discouraged by both rejection and criticism.

And I know that in an era when long-form journalism is measured in characters, not words, many believe writing is easy. They look at it much as they do college-level teaching: All you have to do is get up in front of a class and talk about your life and career experiences.

Not.

Andy Rooney once opined that it never failed to amuse him how many said they would write a book — if only they had the time. Few, he said, dreamed of embarking on new careers and spending a retirement arguing cases before the Supreme Court, or performing heart surgery. But they would write a book — if only they had the time.

Well, we’ll see.

As I enter the next stage in my life, I want to learn more about the craft of writing. I’ve spent most of my career writing and reading nonfiction. Now I want to make the transition to fiction. And I want to understand better the major changes occurring in the publishing industry — a situation not unlike what has happened in journalism where legacy media have given way to new media. For instance, consider the perspectives of:

And since I have the time, I might as well go ahead and see if I can publish the novel I wrote over the last year or so, “Then We Ran.”

Here’s the blurb:

“Then We Ran” shows how lives can change when ordinary people commit themselves to exceed the expectations they have for themselves and that others have for them. A bond to run a marathon each month for a year joins two runners, an older man and a younger woman, as they strive to rebuild their lives. With one caring for a husband with early-onset Alzheimer’s and the other smarting from a failed marriage and mired in the complacency of retirement, they recapture the passion in their lives and discover the importance of love and friendship.

You really make it appear so easy along with your presentation but I to find this topic to be really one thing that I think I’d never understand. It sort of feels too complicated and extremely extensive for me. I am looking ahead in your next post, Iˇll try to get the hang of it!